Polls Show Ex-PM Hosokawa’s Tokyo Governor Bid Not Gaining Traction

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may be able to sleep soundly if recent polls are any indication on the outcome of the upcoming Tokyo governor’s race.

Despite the media hoopla surrounding the high-profile candidacy of former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa on a vehemently anti-nuclear platform, polls showed that the 76-year-old was running behind his ruling Liberal Democratic Party-backed rival. And potentially more problematic to his campaign, voters appeared to place greater importance on economic and welfare issues over the debate on nuclear power, which Mr. Hosokawa planned to make a bone of contention in the lead-up to the Feb. 9 election.

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